Once again, Steven Johnson has made me re-think my thinking. His post, Digital Maoism, which was originally in the New York Times annual "Year of Ideas" Issue (subs. req'd) and which I found on Edge, reminds us that while the collective is powerful, it is not necessarily original. This speaks to some of my earlier thoughts on crowdsourcing and user-generated content.

The good news: singular ideas and smart crowds are by no means mutually exclusive. Certainly not when it comes to philanthropy.

Why is this blog called Philanthropy 2173?

This is a blog about the future. The year 2173 seems sufficiently far enough in the future to give us some perspective. As sure as we are of ourselves now, talking about the future - and making philanthropic investments - requires that we keep a sense of modesty and humor about what we are doing. Philanthropy is for the long-term - for the year 2173.